I overheard something very odd a few days ago. An elderly man who was walking with a cane stopped and chatted with another man not far from me. I distinctly heard the other man burst out enthusiastically, "Well, congratulations!!!" The man with the cane in turn beamed with pride.
Now, if you're a true optimist, you might be thinking that the man with the cane won the lottery. Or, maybe his granddaughter gave birth to her first child. Um...or perhaps his grandson won the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby? Er...or maybe the man lost five pounds that his doctor strongly suggested he shed? These are all good guesses but they're all wrong. No, the highly ecstatic and sincere congratulations, as I later found out, was because the football team that he rooted for, the Green Bay Packers, won the Super Bowl.
There's really only one way to put this and that is...are you freakin' kidding me?! Congratulations??! For what, exactly?! For reaching into the chip bowl one more time and double dipping into the salsa?!
Hey, I know this world that we all live in is odd but this is simply too much for me to swallow. I mean, sure, be excited that the team you like won...sure! But 'congratulations'?! C'mon...be serious!
I've always taken issue with sports fans who use the phrase "we won". Um, how do you figure this as 'we'?? I'm sorry but I didn't see you down there hustling the ball back and forth (although I'll certainly admit that I'd like to since it would probably be quite the sight). Nor did I see you on the field giving instruction to the players. Better yet, I didn't see you anywhere NEAR the field. So what's with this "we"??! Didn't THEY win and you just basically sat on your arse and occasionally screamed at the TV for no real reason whatsoever?
I can't help but think back to one of my personal favorite lines in "Citizen Kane", when Kane is desperately trying to make his wife Susan not feel so isolated from the rest of the world by telling her that the Bulldogs won that evening. Susan simply replies sarcastically, "Well, hurray for the Bulldogs".
Ditto!
1 comment:
Good blog! Keep it up! I have been married all of a week and three days and loving it. You have been on my mind, and I have been wanting to write you a note or two. How have you been? I seem to remember you saying something about coming out to Phoenix; is that still on?
Talk to you soon,
Emily
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